#only extremism is winning

[maayanaonthemove]

War

For a second I forgot

We are in active war

An evil, evil war

Extremism served on silver platters

They are winning

They are killing us all

No matter the toll

Each side more convicted

More efficient

More blindly blazingly going

No matter the toll

They are killing us all

We are losing our soul

We can never forget

This

Is

War

[ofswordsandpens]

I fear that "fire bending didn't come easy to zuko" and "zuko isn't a prodigy" (both true) has somehow snowballed into "zuko is a bad or at best average fire bender".... which simply isn't true, especially by the end of book 3

[kacievvbbbb]

The Red Hair Pirates Navigator gets sick or something while Mihawk is visiting and Mihawk, who rides around on an overgrown raft and has probably never steered an actual real ship in his life but loves a challenge, volunteers himself as a stand in while acting like they've forced his hand.

So it's just like

Absolutely No one:

Mihawk (sighing) : I guess since you've begged I'll do it 🙄

And Shanks is so excited because Mihawk is actually taking a vested interest in his crew and this is probably the closest he will get at having him as an official rhp and of course watching Mihawk do piratey things he rarely does is very hot.

Everyone else has a couple of......questions

Benn: I've never seen Hawkeyes use a map before, I'm not even sure he own's a log pose.

Shanks (insanely whipped would let Mihawk crash them into the rocks like a sailor to a siren call) : But he get's where he needs to go and that's the important bit.

Mihawk gives directions that the helmsmen has never heard of in his life, never actually opens a map navigates soley on memory, they don't see a single Island for days and he leaves the crew wondering how exactly it is he ever gets anywhere. They still somehow arrive 3 days earlier than expected.

[winterrbluess]

Spoilers

Ok now that the initial shock has faded and I'm much more grounded. This chapter is good actually. Everyone knew Sukuna was going to die and to some extent I knew his death was going to be anything but glorious. It's jjk people rarely get good and respectful death let alone a grand and glorious one but yeah Gege took me out again with how he closed Sukuna's arc. Was it underwhelming? Yes. In jjk if you don't adapt, don't change you're doomed to fail and Sukuna no matter how much physically strong he was always emotionally fragile and in the end his own lack of self awareness became his cause of demise. Kenjaku the biggest villian of the series (for me, the heinous acts he has done is way more than mass murder) got a pretty satisfying end for him because he was open to see and connect with Takaba. Sukuna never did that and died a lump of flesh. And honestly it's not humiliating or pathetic. At first glance it did seem like with him becoming a slime but he didn't die begging for his life rather still being the no 1 hater and his pride mostly intact (he did looked overwhelmed but when after 1000 years you actually lose it's given) also as hypocritcal as ever (mocking Yuji and others for fearing death but he himself felt that too) His death was neither like a glorious warrior nor truly pathetic like Mahito's. For me he just...had a simple and quick death. Though Yuji holding his remains and finally telling him something that he always unconsciously craved for was very bittersweet maybe this is what Yuji had told him on their stroll time things could've been...better? His 'you're me' moved me honestly. They both are the different sides of a coin. It was sad how Sukuna (the man who never cared for any identification or title) for the first time out of everything chose to identify as a...curse really showed how hollow his sense of self was actually. But no matter how much Sukuna denied it he was still...a human not a god not a curse and he died as such and with the only family he ever had at that (maybe if you see he died in the hands of the only family he ever had) and though a direct parallel to Mahito it wasn't hate that Yuji felt and I think neither pity but empathy genuine empathy. Wishing a place where Sukuna could get someone like he had his grandfather, Gojo had Geto and Megumi had Him....

Rip Ryomen Sukuna very few other characters had me itch my brain with their duality.

[wickmitz]

— THE ELECTRIC-FEVER REMEDY.

[wispforever]

exalt

[feroluce]

Belobog was my fave main quest but a lot of it is so. Contradictory. It's like they had multiple groups doing different shit and none of them checked in with each other for consistency. And you see this so much in Gepard's profile.

So in the main quest, they made him unfailingly, unquestionably loyal to Cocolia. Gepard's character arc is him learning to question authority etc etc. And this isn't even a bad thing; that's a story worth telling! It makes good conflict between him and Serval! And I love that we got Gepard as a boss battle and I get to see him all the time in SU!

But then you look at his character stories and it's like. The complete opposite.

According to his profile, Gepard has already HAD this awakening, long before the Astral Express, and he'd already decided Cocolia sucks. Even outside of his stories, there's a pretty damning readable between him and Pela.

He even disobeyed direct orders right in front of her- he has been disobeying orders for a while now!

So I've decided I'm marrying the two different sides of this into a 1.5k fic-ish thingy, because I think there's some fun potential there with Gepard not trusting Cocolia, but still having to pretend to be a good obedient little soldier.

Anyway. I love to think of it as like. Gepard knows Cocolia has sunk into her apathy. He can see it in her eyes every time he looks at her. She doesn't care. Not about him, not about Pela, not about all his soldiers on the frontlines giving their lives to protect the citizens. And that's... It makes him bristle a bit, but ok. Gepard can deal with this. Even if Cocolia no longer cares, as long as she does her job then it's fine. Having compassion behind an action doesn't matter as much as the action itself. If Cocolia's heart is no longer swayed, then he'll just have to care twice as hard to pick up the slack. He considers it part of his duty as a captain of the guard anyway. It's fine. Gepard can deal with it.

And then, Cocolia starts coming down to the restricted zone. Issuing direct orders.

And Gepard realizes he is in way over his head.

Because Cocolia orders him to stay back and issue commands from the ramparts, away from all his comrades, away from where he can protect them.

Gepard had thought nothing could be as bad as watching a fellow guard die right next to him. But the first time he watches someone struck by a killing blow, so far away, it hurts. Every defensive scar across his arms itches, his fingers curl in want of a weapon, the cold cannot numb his hands enough as they desperately ache for his shield. It hurts.

Gepard tries to find any reason to stay. Because surely... He knows Cocolia has lost her love for her people, but surely... She wouldn't...

One day, Cocolia orders for their gunners to advance 20 yards. There are no survivors. She almost looks like she smiles.

Gepard doesn't sleep that night.

Pela brings him the report at the end of the first month; and then the month after that, and the month after that. A significant uptick in losses, and all of it started on that first day Cocolia started overriding his authority and issuing her own orders. The ends of Gepard's pens have all been nearly chewed off. Pela outright calls Cocolia an idiot, and Gepard corrects her. Cocolia isn't an idiot. Gepard had known her through Serval, knew her through all her college years and then some, and he knows how intelligent she is. It's not that she's stupid, and it's not that she's inexperienced, it's nothing of the sort.

Cocolia knows exactly what she's doing.

She must, there's no way she could make such a horrible mess of things so badly by accident. And Pela, quick as a whip, sharp as a tack, always too smart for her own good, catches onto the meaning behind Gepard's correction without any further prompting. The tent goes deathly quiet, nothing but the wind howling outside.

"...She's trying to kill us," Pela whispers, her voice swiftly suffocated by the silence.

Gepard swallows. He can't bring himself to correct her this time. There is nothing he could say that he would actually mean.

His gaze drops, back down to his desk and the reports on it. The names aren't listed, just the numbers, but Gepard knows them, knew them, and there must be something wrong, something he's missing, because why, why would she-? What could this possibly accomplish-?

“Gepard! Focus!” Something snaps right under his nose, and Gepard startles, eyes instantly honing in on Pela's irritated face as she leans over his desk. She holds his gaze for a moment before she huffs and begins to pace, wedges a knuckle between her teeth and bites like Gepard hasn't seen her do since cadet school.

Pela angrily strides from one end of his tent to the other, words hissed between her grit teeth. “What are we going to do?” In the dim lighting, Gepard can just barely see the damp spot of blood weeping under her gloves. “We need a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Wh- Yes, a plan! Unless you want more people to die!” Pela rounds on him then, all the wrath of a blizzard, winds roaring and snow sharp enough to cut.

“We don't even know-”

“What does it matter?! She killed-!!” Pela cuts off with a garbled noise when Gepard leaps up from his desk, hastily shoves his hand over her mouth. The prosthetic, not the flesh one, because he knows better than to assume Pela won't seize the opportunity to leave teeth marks in his skin.

“You're right. I'm sorry, I'm sorry; you're right. But you need to keep quiet.” Pela quirks an eyebrow at him and Gepard can read the question in her face. “Because we both saw what she did to Serval,” he hisses.

It's amazing the snow plains haven't thawed out yet, the amount of heat Pela can put behind a glare. The mere mention of Serval, and the smoking ruins Cocolia had made of her life and career, have her bristling up like a riled cat. The sudden hot breath she takes fans fog across his metal skin, and Gepard wisely keeps it in place until Pela finally sighs and reaches up, taps her fingertips against the back of his hand.

The second she's free, Pela bats him away and then her knuckle is right back between her teeth again, Gepard leaning back against his desk with his arms crossed to watch her resume her pacing. “If we spread the word, she'll have us discharged and make sure we can't even touch the frontlines,” Pela's voice seethes like an open sore. Gepard nods but keeps his silence. He knows better than to get in her way.

“And if you and I are both out of the picture, Belobog is fucked.” A little harsher than how he would have put it, but there's no denying that they're both important to the city's survival. Pela has the restricted zone running as efficiently as ever, and Gepard had become the youngest captain on record for a reason. “We need to keep this tight under wraps, at least for now… It can't leak to anyone higher up the chain.” Another nod. “Serval might know other discontents…” Another n-

Gepard's head snaps up. “No.”

“No what?”

“No. We're not involving Serval in this.”

Somehow, even the same tone that leaves entire squadrons shaking in their boots has never worked on her. “You're not deciding that for her, Gepard.”

Pela hadn't seen the worst of it, though, back when his sister had just been banned from the Architects. Serval's pride hadn't allowed it. Pela wasn't the one to find her passed out bottle still in hand, hadn't been the one to wash the sick out of her hair or carry her to bed. 

Serval still has trouble thinking clearly when it comes to Cocolia, still can't quite bring herself to be objective. And Gepard maybe doesn't want her to be purely objective- but he would worry a lot less if she thought twice before she acted more often.

“At least let me be the one to bring it up to her.”

“Whatever, fine,” Pela gestures affirmatively at him as she paces past, and Gepard sighs. Good, at least that's one thing he can help.

From there, it's a lot of hemming and hawing and frustration. Cocolia has them under her boot, and Gepard and Pela both know it. Even with the way she's been cracking down on freedoms lately, Cocolia is still, overall, liked by the people. It's unlikely anyone would believe them. They don't even have solid proof, because most people don't know Cocolia as well as they do and won't see the clues in the same light. 

The Fragmentum has been ramping up in recent years, too. Everyone is struggling just to survive as is, they can't afford a fight on two fronts. Gepard is a damn good captain, one of the best for that matter. But they're at a massive disadvantage, his experience is narrowed to fighting a defensive battle against monsters, that's all he's ever done. That's all anyone there has ever done. He has no way of finding first-hand knowledge for taking the offensive against a human opponent, and if he goes at this blind, there's no way he'll get everyone out unscathed. He's going to lose people. He's going to lose a lot of people.

He'd never thought before that Cocolia would have it in her to have someone killed. And with this new knowledge, he has no guarantee she won't go after Serval or Lynx if she decides to retaliate.

Gepard has to remind himself to breathe when he realizes this.

Pela writes down every name the two of them can come up with. Lists and lists of names and groups and anyone they can think of who might be an ally in all of this. They memorize every bit of it, make their plans of who to talk to and when. Gepard watches the sparks reflect off Pela's glasses as they burn the evidence together.

Pela finally leaves, far too late to make it home, but says she wants to stay in the restricted zone anyway to investigate. Gepard watches her make her way in the direction of Dunn's tent, watches her back until she's out of his sight and squashes down the urge to follow and keep an eye on her. His tent feels empty.

In the morning, Gepard is up before the wake up bells. He drags himself out of bed, leads his soldiers through their morning training. The same people gravitate to each other everyday. Friend groups and training partners. There's an ongoing rivalry between a few squadrons that everyone bets on. Some of them have lockets around their necks, keepsakes, mementos. Some of them wear wedding rings.

Gepard is suddenly, painfully aware of something acidic clawing at the inside of his throat, of a heavy weight low in his chest that blooms, takes up room until it threatens to spread his ribs. His mouth tastes of bile and blood.

He rearranges the schedules. Puts himself down for every open patrol into the Fragmentum, makes sure he'll be on the frontlines every single time Cocolia visits.

He only hopes that it's enough.

[eyepatchoflove]

now that lestat had a successful one-sided beef with the switfies, can we manufacture some beef between him and the vampire band from chica vampiro that becomes real beef as soon as mirco gets actively involved because of course it would

[chryblossomjjk]

[svtskneecaps]

i should be sleeping but i do want to reiterate how much i love that our collective fan community and also the streamers are constantly like, so new members when? new language when? a teaser drops and we're all like germans???? german time????? asiatic language time??????? new faces??? new friends?? new communities????

i've said this before but it just constantly makes me feel all warm n fuzzy to see it. i'm really happy we're all so excited and united in this.

[fucksutawneyphil]

whenever i’m like “maybe i think tara is stronger than she actually is” i remember how she went toe to toe with slade when they sparred and his reaction was to silently freak the fuck out

[falling-star-cygnus]

this may be a controversial opinion

but i think if Carter fought Percy in the desert, and only in the desert-

Carter would win

[yuridovewing]

i understand the frustration with “i made this gay pairing cis x trans so they can still have biological babies” with no thought to other methods and how ppl assume thats the case when it comes to mothpool aus where mothwing is also the mother of the three, but also…. idk i kinda dont give a shit if someone wants to do that and i dont really think its inherently transphobic as long as its handled with care and respect.

what really concerns me about this debate is how some people are adamant that you cannot portray trans people having biological children in media or youre being disrespectful. and im gonna say as a nonbinary person who doesnt want children for themself- thats kinda fucking weird? like i understand that for some people, theyre trans themselves and theyre speaking from a place of dysphoria, and i absolutely get that, which is why i think the topic should be handled with nuance and diversity in trans characters, but like…. guys. pregnant trans men exist irl. trans women get people pregnant irl. trans ppl’s ability and right to parent and have biological children are being debated irl. we get denied the opportunity to adopt as well.

in a climate like this, are we SURE we want the stance on rewrites and headcanons in the silly cat books to be “if you portray trans characters having children, especially with a gay couple, youre a transphobic freak no matter what!” does it really matter? especially if its being done by a trans person handling the topic with nuance who has a lot of trans characters with varying perspectives?

obviously yes, remember that thats not the only way certain gay couples can have kids, remember that not every trans person is fully comfortable with it and keep that in mind, remember that surrogacy and adoption are also perfectly valid ways to give fan babies- but remember that there are OPTIONS. not that you need to condemn the idea of transgender parents in the first place unless they fit the very specific criteria of “proper transgender representation” and anything that dares deviate from that is proof the op is a transphobic monster (bonus points if theyre a trans creator bc i mostly see trans people getting shit for this and it kinda pisses me off. although idm if cis people do it either as long as theyre handling it with respect)

[shannonsketches]

Every time I talk to a DB fan who doesn't know or doesn't agree that the whole franchise is an adventure comedy first and an action series second I feel insane but then I find an old Toriyama interview,

You made some comedic scenes where you have minor villains Pilaf & co. appear; how did you come up with a balance between laughs and fierce battles? Do you pay attention to the difference between comedy and battle in making a work “entertaining”?

I believe that, when you combine comedy and serious battles, both of them might come alive even more. As for me personally, though, I much prefer drawing dumb jokes to battle scenes.

as a bonus, every time I'm like 'idk I didn't really like most of the DBZ movies prior to Yo Son Goku and Friends Return and BotG,' and get the 'whAAaaT they're so gOOD' (from my brother, tbh askdjs) but they all seemed really Action-Drama and About the Fight Scenes and I'm like 'meh kinda boring tbh' I get to gaze upon,

In the latest movie, Toriyama-san, you participated in the production from the scriptwriting stage for the first time. What is the reason for that? Was there anything you noticed in coming face-to-face with the work after so long?

I was told about a project for Dragon Ball in its first animated film in a long while, and I read the story outline; while the beings “Beerus, God of Destruction” and “Super Saiyan God” (which goes above Super Saiyan) were interesting, the themes were heavy, and I felt that the world was a bit different from Dragon Ball. Rather than telling them about this or that problematic spot, I thought it would be faster if I just wrote it out concretely, and while I had intended just to give them a model―”for example”―my hand wouldn’t stop, and ultimately, I ended up writing almost everything, including the dialogue. I am reflecting on the fact that I did something terribly rude to the scriptwriter.

Akira "It was bad so I fixed it, oops" Toriyama, Absolute Legend

[taddymason]

not rlly sure if this has been asked but cuz ur the biggest jay fan i follow i wanted to know what you thought of jay in pt 2 of season 2 ( if you've watched it )

I talked about this before but in summary (DRS2 spoilers undercut):

I think the execution could have been much better. I get what they were doing, with Jay's presence being brief because there's no need to rush his arc and then Arin becoming increasingly frustrated with Lloyd's leadership and wanting to look for his parents since Jay left the tournament. I agree that it wouldn't make sense to resolve Evil Jay's plot this season, and I'm happy with things like not having him fall in love with Nya instantly just because or showing him recovering his memories.

The problem is that those five minutes of Evil Jay feel rushed on their own to jump into Jaya angst and there really isn't much content. It's not a good antagonist introduction because Jay doesn't feel like a threat since he was eliminated in his first round. It doesn't offer anything interesting in terms of the mix of new and old personality that Jay may have as a villain. His powers don't feel threatening either, all the interesting background of the Administration is explained in one line of dialogue. We don't see him interact with anyone on his own team. We don't even see a significant reaction from anyone else besides Nya.

Seriously, the only thing I can perhaps conclude about his character in these minutes is that his fighting style is more aggressive, but apart from that there is nothing interesting because it all came down to exposure time. And I think this is not just something that I felt, because everyone is talking more about his line of "I will always hate you" because that is the only notable part of his character in those minutes.

And I get it, his interactions with Nya were good, but if this is the introduction of him as an antagonist there should be something more substantial that makes me feel SOMETHING for him besides pity. The character is at his lowest point now (he's completely alone, with no memories, with his soul broken, with no job) and I haven't seen him make any active on-screen decisions to get there.

This isn't to say that the season is bad, I just think they wanted to jump to Jaya angst too early before giving Jay a good introduction as an antagonist.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 742: Sudden death match!!

Pag 1

1: Woah, Danchiku, oh-

And Sugimoto-san too!?

2: They passed us so quickly!! Such high pace!!

Huh!?

They're doing some sort of serious race!?

3: I get it

4: I can feel it

5: This guy....!!

Pag 2

1: He's not giving up at all!!

Pag 3

3: Earlier, at the line, I thought I had won this race

I thought he was far behind me and would cross the line with his head hanging down

4: And yet....

Pag 4

1: He caught up to me....!!

2: The preliminary of this race was already done on the “second day”!!

3: That time, the result

5: was a draw!!

6: So it would be better to have a more precise result, wouldn't it

We'll decide it with this lap!! The rules are simple: the starting point line is 4km from here, the one who crosses it first wins!!

7: And then the loser shouldn't “surpass” the winner anymore!! Sugimoto-san!!

Pag 5

1: Imaizumi-san too!!

2: …. yeah

It's better to make it clear with a proper race like this

3: So you have no regrets....!!

4: Let's go!!

5: Crush him, Danchiku!!

Pag 6

2: At the same time....!!

Ah.... “at the same time” again!?

3: Seriously!?

Are you being for real, Sadatoki!?

Pag 7

1: You're just seeing things as you wish they were,since he's your brother!!

Oon!! No that's not it, on!!

It's true, Kaburagi, I saw it too

2: They arrived at the same time, Sugimoto stretched at the last moment

3: Kawada!!

It's “san”!!

4: Are you an accomplice too!!

What are you talkin abut

5: A- amazing, Sugimoto-kun

6: Amazing!!

Pag 8

1: “Amazing”, huh, Onoda

2: Imaizumi-kun....

Pfui

3: You thought Sugimoto would win? ….This race

Huh

4: You didn't think he would, that's why when we heard the results you could say “amazing”

Ah!!

5: I'm- I'm sorry Sugimoto-kun!! I didn't believe in you, even though you worked so hard....!!

Who are you yelling at

6: Me too

Pag 9

2: During these past four days.... Sugimoto worked hard, but, after their race on the second day and after seeing how remarkably stronger Danchiku has gotten

3: When they decided to do another race, I thought Sugimoto would definitely lose

4: Then, when the time came

5: If you lose, you feel better if you gave it your all, so

6: “So you have no regrets”

7: I said that

But

8: He turned it around

Sugimoto really is amazing

Pag 10

1: Even with no one believing in him, with only his own strength, he snatched a “draw” against Danchiku!!

Pag 11

1: Keep going!! Let's keep going with the race, Danchiku!!

2: Even though he's having such an hard time, he's still following me!!

3: Since earlier I've increased the pace many times

4: Garuaaa

Even if I tear him off

Pag 12

1: Every time

2: While saying

3: “Kuaa kuaa”

“Kuaa kuaa”

5: Kuaaa-

6: Kuaaaaaaa

He catches up to me

Pag 13

2: You keep following me....

3: No....

4: You're the one who said “please follow me”, Danchiku

Pag 14

1: Garuaaa!!

2: Ahhhh

Don't make fun of me, there's no way!!

3: Aaaaaaaa

4: Hiigaruaaaa!!

There's no way I'll lose!!

Pag 15

1: To Sugimoto-san!!

4: I was careless – I was careless and that's why he caught up to me!! The second time too!!

I won't be careless this time!!

Pag 16

1: Ill take a plunge firmly, throw my handles, and cross the line

2: At full throttle!!

The last curve!!

3: He's not following me anymore!! He's....

Pag 17

1: He's here!!

Cough cough

2: Kuaaaa

We're entering the final sprint!!

3: Dammit, this guy is gonna stretch from here!!

4: Hiigaruaaaaa!!

Take a plunge!!

5: Take a plunge!!

Pag 18

1: Throw your handles!!

Pag 19

1: Wooooah!!

No... wait, even now....

2: It's a draw!!

Ya!!

On!!

Woah

3: Dammit, what happened, Danchiku what are you doin!!

You should be much stronger..... should....

Pag 20

1: Don't tell me.... that Sugimoto-san.... is strong too!?

2: You.... you mean it's a draw for the third time!!

How long will they keep going, at this pace it won't ever end!!

3: …. no

5: It's a shame, but there's no time left...

6: This lap is the last